Salsa La Cruz – A New Attitude

If you’re a regular reader you know that I’ve had the Salsa La Cruz under long-term test for quite a while now. It’s definitely been the workhorse of my stable, and with good reason. It’s fast, comfortable, dependable and fun to ride. Although I’ve been perfectly happy with the stock bike so far, I had always wondered how it would handle with a mountain bike handlebar. I also wanted the opportunity to try out SRAM’s DoubleTap 10 Flat-Bar Road Shifters (a full review is forthcoming) since I’ve been impressed with the Rival groupset on my road bike.

So I sent a few emails and before long I had the parts to make the conversion (yes, publishing a cycling magazine does have some perks). Off came the Bell Lap handlebars and on went a Pro Moto Flat Bar and stem (the review on those, too, is in the works). Braking would be handled by the Avid Speed Dial Ultimate levers that I reviewed recently, and I installed a set of black Ergon GP1 grips.

You’re probably not going to be surprised to hear that I’m happy with the new setup. Really, who wouldn’t be? I suppose die-hard drop bar fans might not like the limited number of hand positions, but it hasn’t bothered me a bit. The bike feels right at home with a flat bar, and the steering seems just as snappy, even with a slightly longer stem than I had been running. The brakes still work like a charm with the Avid levers, and the shifting is as intuitive and crisp as it is on my road bike. For the money, Rival components seem hard to beat both in performance and weight. I will say, though, the Shimano 105 groupset that the bike shipped with was still shifting like new when I removed it.

I’ve had something of an obsession with finding orange parts for the La Cruz, and I was pretty overjoyed when I spotted a set of matching orange Origin 8 track pedals at Iron City Bikes. They’re obviously not the highest quality pedals on the market, but they get the job done. For the time being I took off my Woho saddle bag and replaced it with a Zefal Flamingo fender that I scored on closeout at Kraynicks for next to nothing (they’re out of production, but some are still available out there). My spare tube and tools went into a Soma Stash Bottle, which doesn’t come in orange, but that’s OK with me.

I thought I might have switched back to the stock Panaracer CrossBlasters for the winter, but the Michelin City tires have been treating me so well it’s been a non issue. Even without knobby tires, the occasional shortcut through the park is more appealing with the addition of the flat bar, as it’s easier to lift the front end to clear obstacles. The same goes for hopping off tall curbs and jumping potholes.

Visit www.salsacycles.com for more information.